Brooklyn Eckfords

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The Brooklyn Eckfords were officially called the Eckford of Brooklyn club or simply Eckford. Named for shipbuilder Henry Eckford, the team was formed in 1855, and was one of the founding members of the National Association of Base Ball Players when the association was formed in 1857. When the Union Grounds opened in 1862, the team moved its home games there. They were one of the more popular tenants there as they played more home games (16) than any other team that claimed residence there.

By the late 1860s the Eckfords were considered to be one of the top clubs of the nation. When the National Association was formed in 1871, the Eckfords chose to remain an independent club. although they would play about 30 games against teams from the NA. The Eckfords joined the National Association for the 1872 season. The team lost its first 11 games by the month of July. After surviving a reorganization of the league, which saw the league membership drop from 11 to 6, the Eckfords managed to win only 3 of the next 18 games, and finished the season with a 3-26 record. After the season ended, the team folded.

List of amateur Eckfords players (before 1872)[edit]

Note: amateur players are listed up to 1871 rather than 1870 like most teams on these lists because the Eckfords officially competed in the National Association's regular season starting in 1872, but were allowed to play the remainder of the Fort Wayne Kekiongas' late summer games in 1871, following the Kekiongas disbanding in July, though these games were not officially counted in the final standings.

1855 New Members[edit]

  • Frank Pidgeon
  • Joseph Vanderbilt
  • William Bell
  • Peter Tostevin
  • William Webster
  • Harvey Calkin
  • William Haight
  • William Logan
  • Summers?
  • Crosby?
  • Keely?
  • Samson?
  • Lindsey?
  • Smith?

1856 New Members[edit]

1857 New Members[edit]

  • George Grum
  • Andrew Mills
  • Henry Manholt
  • Edmund Brown
  • McVoy?

1858 New Members[edit]

  • E.F. Jenkins

1859 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1860 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1861 New Members[edit]

1862 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1863 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1864 New Members[edit]

1865 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1866 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1867 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1868 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1869 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1870 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

1871 New Members[edit]

  • None confirmed

Sources[edit]

  • Peter Filichia: Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebrations of All 273 Major League and Negro League Ballparks Past and Present, Addison Wesley Publishing Company (March 1993)
  • James L. Terry: Long Before the Dodgers: Baseball in Brooklyn, McFarland, Jefferson, NC 2002. ISBN 978-0-7864-1229-7
  • Marshall Wright: The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870, McFarland & Co., Jefferson, NC, 2000.
  • Eckfords
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